A visit to Keukenhof

Last Friday we visited Keukenhof, which is meant to be the largest flower garden in the world.    At this time of the year during the Amsterdam Tulip Festival, they are famous for the blooming of over 7 million flower bulbs, including over 800 species of tulips.

Of course the place was packed with people, which is the downside of visiting most tourist sites.   The car park was also very busy. 

The best way to bypass the traffic was to ride a bike on the cycle path.    The fields of daffodils were still in full bloom.    I think the fields of flowers are for cultivating bulbs rather than the blooms themselves.

The line up of family, Abi, Walter and Aaron.

And another photograph with me this time.

The display of daffodils, tulips and crocuses represents 'a tulip'.

Shaped yew? or conifer? trees line the canal.

Rows of daffodils and hyacinths plus tulips.    The smell of hyacinths throughout the gardens was quite overpowering.   Until I visited Keukenhof I did not realise that hyacinths came in so many colours.

A flower boat on a canal.

This windmill was once a working mill elsewhere in the Netherlands.

There are six pavilions, each named after Queens of the Netherlands and the current King, Willem-Alexander.   Each one is unique, an orchid display, cut flower display, historical information and photographs, and tulips.

The tulip display was the most spectacular, I thought, and I took heaps of photographs in this pavilion.

And yes, these are tulips!

And so are these!

A display of highly perfumed hyacinths.

The white horse and rider statue.

The metal bear drinking water.

The historical tulip garden which displays new tulip varieties during the past 100 years or so.

And finally beautiful reflections in the water.

A very weary but happy group of people left the gardens at the end of the day, three of us to relax in the car while Aaron battled the rush hour traffic.

A long walk around Utrecht

This was a very long walk around Utrecht!  Kylie asked us to buy bread at a certain bakery, and she gave us very precise details on how to get there but it took ages to find it.    And when we got there they were sold out of bread!   

However we had a good look around Utrecht, and trying to get our bearings at the same time.   We were relying on a very poor tourist map, made worse when we could not access Google maps (no internet, no data).    Interestingly, we both are too reliant on Google maps.

A little bit of history.   Utrecht was chartered in 1122 and had a city council as early as 1304.  In 1579 the Union of Utrecht was signed and this laid the foundations of the Dutch Republic.   It was then the most important city in the Netherlands but was surpassed by Amsterdam in the Golden Age (1588 - 1672)

A tourist boat navigating the canal that runs under Hoog Catharijne.   The canal that started off as a canal, then was drained and became a road, and now made back into a canal again.    A lovely setting.

A view of the Dom Tower in the distance.

A New Zealand shop.

Lunch time.    The Dutch people love to sit in the sun, while drinking coffee or eating lunch or having drinks in the early evening.   They just lap it up (the sun that is).   I feel sorry for the people who have cafes without sunshine.   Perhaps they have cosy areas inside that people seek out in the winter.

And on the subject of inside cafes.    The Dutch love their cosiness, or gezelligheid, and it is so important to get this right.   The setting, the furniture, the ornaments, the indoor plants and indoor lighting contribute to the feeling of gezelligheid.    The expression of 'this is gezellig' when sitting in a room is quite a compliment.   However, the fact that you probably cannot see what you are eating in a restaurant, due to the dim lighting, is not important.   

One of the old canals.

Walter trying to work out where he is while looking at the terrible map.   Behind him is a 'coffee shop' where you can legally smoke marijuana or eat cannabis in cakes.   Coffee shops are not cafes as such and it is important to realise there is a difference.   I did recognise the shop, although I still did not know precisely where we were, map wise.    This is not due to frequenting such places!   More of an interest really.

A Miffy shop.    There is also a Miffy museum in Utrecht.   I am sure everyone knows the Miffy books, written and drawn by Dick Bruna.    He lived in Utrecht.

The Dom Tower.   Someone must have straightened it up during its recent renovation, as it was always on a lean in my photographs.    The lines on the pavement show how far it would fall, should that happen.

The Dom Tower is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands.   It was once attached to a church called St Martin's Cathedral which was built between 1321 and 1382.   The Cathedral was never finished and the nave finally collapsed in 1674.    Another church was built after that but it wa further away from the Dom Tower.

Sometimes bikes end up like the one in the photograph below.

A fat tyre electric bike, beloved by the teenagers.   These bikes are a danger to themselves and others.   

Except for not being able to buy the lovely bread, it was a beautiful day spent rambling around Utrecht.

A trip to Utrecht, the shops that is, not the town.

I have just looked up Utrecht on Google search, and the current mayor of the city stated that Utrecht is the fastest growing and the most healthiest city of The Netherlands.   Plus it is one of the most happiest city in the world, according to the United Nations.  Interesting!

But I digress here, as the first trip we made into Utrecht was to the shopping centre which was attached to the railway station.    

It is a short journey in, with only two stops, and takes about 15 minutes, plus there are trains running every 15 minutes, although that can seem a long wait on a cold day.

A photo of our block of units, Joinn!, taken through the glass panels of the railway station.

Walter always has a seat with him.   The walker comes in very handy at times like this.   

Utrecht Centraal.    Utrecht is the hub for most train journeys in the Netherlands, as they come through here, on their journeys to other parts of the country.

The transformation of the shopping centre next to the railway station was amazing, and one that we have watched over the past fifteen years.     

in 2010 the shopping centre was attached to the station via a corridor, which contained shops on one side.   Now there is a large paved area, with a fancy roof overhead, and an area where people can gather together, meet friends and generally sit and relax, as long as the wind is not tearing through.

The shopping centre, Hoog Catharijne.

The view of the canal which runs under the shopping complex.   In 2010 this was a major road,way.   Now it is a serene space.   Interestingly it started off as a canal, which was drained some years ago in order to provide a road to cater for vehicles, and then it was reinstated back into a canal.  It certainly is an improvement.    

A view of the cafes on the ground floor, which is where we drank a fairly nondescript cup of coffee.

However, we ate lunch back in the area between the train station and the shopping centre.   Our favourite, hot chips in a paper holder, and mine with a huge dollop of mayonnaise, even though I asked for a little mayonnaise!    Luckily I had a little wooden fork so I could keep the mayonnaise off my fingers.   This can make the fingers a little slimy.   The chips were very hot, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and so delicious.

My lunch on the second day.     Pea soup from Hema.   The orange juice and roll was healthy but the pea soup was probably highly processed but still delicious.    It was worth the indigestion that followed afterwards.

The doorway of the new Hema shop in Houten.    I love to shop in Hema, which appears to stock everything!

The next blog.    About Utrecht.

Back to the Netherlands

A few months ago we decided we would like to fly to the Netherlands to visit Aaron, Kylie, Mia, Abi and Raphy.   

So with Walter's wonky knee and our advancing ages we decided the only way that we could do it, was to fly Business Class.  We chose Qatar Air and stopped in Doha.    So with a few inward breaths we paid out the money.

Most of the planes have Q Suites which is where the generous seats are surrounded by walls so that each person has their own compact little sleeping compartment.   A little claustrophobic but it enables you to forgot about other passengers.    However, you still experience turbulence and feel every bump. Plus get jet lag when you get to your destination.    Nothing changes there.

Walter settled in his little compartment.   Unfortunately his seat malfunctioned and would not move from the sitting up position so he had to move to another seat. 

Walter in his pyjamas, which are supplied for all long haul flights.   Then the seat folds down into a bed, which the air hostess makes up with sheets and pillows.   Now that was luxurious.    And I slept for a couple of hours until my legs got cramp!   Lack of salt no doubt.   Will rectify that on the way back.

Interestingly the pyjamas are very comfortable, and the socks are very warm.    Quality is much better in Business Class.

And for me, the best part was the small servings of food, plus choice, and I could just eat one course, rather than the whole menu.    Unlike in Economy Class where you are presented with a tray of food which is very off putting.

Interestingly we were always first on, and off the plane, not due to Business Class tickets but because Walter has a walker.    People needing assistance go through passport control and security ahead of the queue.   In Doha we were able to ride on the electric cars.   And even better we went straight through the very long queue of 'others' at the passport area in Schiphol   Now that is fantastic as the UK is no longer part of the European Union and therefore are part of the 'other nationalities'.   My UK passport is useless here! 

The very large and busy Business Class lounge in Doha.

                                         

The view towards the city of Doha, shrouded in smog or early morning mist or dust.   It was certainly very hazy out there.

Finally the Netherlands, and so lovely to see the family.    

The first few days were quite warm, with the temperatures reaching 22 degrees on one of the days.  Since then the day temperature has been much less, between 12 and 18 degrees during the day, and 1 or 2 degrees at night time.    However, the skies have remained blue and there is sunshine every day.   Perfect.

The Rond, Houten, with the large open space surrounded by flats, shops and restaurants.     

Sadly the shops behind the the buildings above are mostly empty now, due to some shops being relocated to the shopping centre and some closing completely.   The idea is to build social housing where the shops used to be, which is a fine idea, but the heart has been taken out of Houten.    

We have an apartment in a block of apartments, right in the heart of Houten, next to the railway station and opposite the shopping centre, with a bike path and canal in between.

The apartment block is called Joinn!, which is a combination of two words, 'Join' and 'Inn'.    The exclamation mark is meant to emphasise the positive dynamic within the concept of the building.    Joinn! was situated in a former office of the Dutch railway and post office, but the building stood empty between 2008 and 2015.   Two brothers converted the building into apartments, a cafe/restaurant plus an area for events.    Sadly the cafe/restaurant closed during the Covid epidemic and has not reopened, which was a pity as it had great views.

The kitchen, dining and lounge area of the apartment.   

                                         
The double bed, a little small for two large people but we manage.    The bathroom is next to the bedroom, all very compact in a square box.   However warm and comfortable.

The balcony, with fake grass on the floor!   A great view though.

I have hired a bike, no electric support, no gears and it has foot brakes.   But it rides well.   I do have to make a bit of an effort riding over the many bridges though.

Still lots of daffodils about.

I know that in the past I have posted many blogs about Houten, and Utrecht, and other places in the Netherlands.   However there is always something a little different or new.